Fabric treatment and apparatus



Feb. 15, 1938. M o I 2,108,127

FABRIC TREATMENT AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Oct. 25, 1955 I 2Sheets-Sheet l.

mar I ff-Ms nd w. '9

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Feb. 3.5, 1938. M. M. KASANOF FABRIC TREATMENT AND APPARATUS THEREFORFiled Oct. 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFHE FABRIC TREATMENT ANDAPPARATUS THEREFOR Masa, executors Application October 25, 1935, SerialNo. 46,736

Claims.

This invention relates in general to the treatment of fabrics andapparatus for effecting such treatment, and in the particularapplication thereof herein disclosed relates to the treatment 5 offabrics while in tubular form.

While the invention has been described in connection with tubularfabrics it is to be understood that as to certain phases thereof it mayhave other applications. It is further to be understood that, forcertain purposes, only certain particular features of the invention maybe utilized, and that the invention is not limited in the practicethereof or in the apparatus therefor to the disclosure in its entirety.

In the process of printing designs on fabrics it is very important thatthe fabrics subjected to the action of the printing machine havesufficient body and permanency of form so that they will not becomedistorted under the action of the printing machine, which would resultin irregularity in the pattern due to distortion, both at the time ofprinting, and thereafter. To prevent such distortion requires propertreatment of the fabric involving shrinking, and stretching and propertensioning thereof before it is fed into the printing machine. Suchtreatment is particularly necessary for loosely knitted fabrics. In theprocesses at present in use the needed tension is imparted to the fabricby an elaborate system of tensioning rollers that tension the fabricbefore it is subjected to the printing process.

It is among the general objects of the invention to impart the propertension to a fabric without the need for the customary complicatedsystem of tensioning rollers, and by means simpler and more effectivethan any heretofore employed.

When fabric tensioned in accordance with the 9 invent-ion or in anymanner at present in use is allowed to stand, its condition is graduallychanged because of moisture, heat and other influences which tend togradually release the tension imparted to it, so that if an initially 5properly tensioned fabric is stored on mandrels or rollers and exposedfor too great a length of time to the aforementioned deterioratinginfluences, after a time it will no longer be suitable for printing. Itis therefore necessary to print the fabrics promptly after thetensioning operation, and in order to minimize the action of thesedeteriorating influences to the utmost it is further among the objectsof the invention to eliminate the step of gathering the tensioned fabricon a roller or mandrel altogether and to have a printing machine as anelement auxiliary to the apparatus, and to feed the fabric directly intothe printing machine after it has been suitably tensioned by thetensioning device of the apparatus.

Where the fabric to be printed is in tubular form either because ofhaving been so manufactured, or by reason of having been formed into atube for convenience of treatment, it is obviously necessary,preparatory to the printing operation, to slit the tube and to spreadthe fabric.

When slitting the fabric it is further essential for the production ofacceptable commercial products that the slit or out in the tubularfabric follow a uniform course in relation to the pattern lines of thesame, or to the seam thereof, where the tubular fabric is formed bysecuring together the edges of an initially flat fabric, and for thispurpose adjustment of the fabric in relation to the point of action ofthe slitting means is necessary. It is further among the objects of theinvention to provide means whereby the proper adjustment of the fabricin relation to the slitting means may be conveniently and effectivelyattained.

Among the further objects of the invention is the provision of a singleassembly in which fabric in tubular form may be treated for the purposeof shrinking or otherwise treating it, and thereafter suitably guidedinto the slitting apparatus in proper alignment therewith, tensioned andprinted; the provision of a unitary assembly comprising slitting,spreading and tensioning means; the provision of a unitary assemblycomprising treating, aligning, slitting, stretching and tensioningmeans; and the provision of spreading and tensioning means incombination with means for adjusting the alignment of the fabric inrelation to the means for removing the fabric from the treating machine.

For the attainment of these objects and such other objects as willhereinafter appear or be pointed out there is shown illustrativeembodiments of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a complete assembly of my machine;

Figure 1a is a modified view of the extreme left hand portion of Figure1, indicating how the tensioned fabric, delivered by the spreading andtensioning device may be led directly into the printing machine;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the assembly of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1 in detail it will be observed that the machine maybe divided into sections denoted respectively by A, B, C, and D, andwhere the modified treatment of Figure 1a, is used, a further section E.

At A is shown a device for treating tubular knitted fabrics by blowing atreating fluid through the previously moistened fabric, this treatmentresulting in a drying, and shrinking or stretching of the fabric. Fromthe treating machine A the fabric is led over a guiding mechanism, B,and in conjunction with said guiding mechanism there is shown anadjusting mechanism, B, whereby the positioning of the fabric inrelation to device B may be controlled. From the guiding structure B thefabric is led into a slitting, spreading and tensioning device D, inwhich the final operations are performed on the fabric, preparatory tothe printing thereof.

If it is desired to print the fabric directly instead of storing it on amandrel the device D will have associated therewith a cloth printingmachine E, as indicated in Figure 1a.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 3, there follows a description of thedetails of the device D with the aid thereof. This device, as alreadymentioned has three functions, the first of which is to slit the tubularfabric, the second to spread it, and the third to tension it properlybefore it is wound on a mandrel or fed into the printing machine.

The body ill of the device D, as shown in the drawings, may be describedas a substantially triangular table or platform along which the fabrictravels downward from the narrow end, which is raised, to the wide end,which constitutes the lowermost portion. The narrow end of the triangleis shown as blunted, although it is narrow enough to pass inside of thedoubledover tubular fabric, which at this point has not yet beenslitted, and underneath the same is a slitting device I2 provided with aslitting wheel M. The fabric 15, indicated by dot and dash lines,emerges in doubled-over tubular form from between the pair of rollers i8and 69, serving to pull the fabric from the treating device Ahereinafter described, and over the narrow end of the table It], so thatthe table I!) is surrounded by the unslit tubular fabric at the point ofentrance thereof, so that one portion passes over the upper surface ofthe table and another portion passes underneath the table l&. The latterportion is engaged by the slitting wheel i4 and is slit so that thesevered edges thus produced drape themselves about the platform ll, asclearly indicated in Figure l, and thereafter as the fabric passes alongthe table it it is gradually spread as the table widens, until at thelower wide end of the table the fabric is completely spread, with itsedges on the table.

The platform It! is shown as mounted for vertical adjustment. For thispurpose it is shown as pivotally mounted at Hi8 near its upper or narrowend, on a threaded stud Hi, whereby it is vertically adjustable, whilenear its wide or lower end it is shown as supported on an eccentricmounting. comprising a pivotally and eccentrically mounted shaft M2, bythe angular adjustment of which the vertical position of the lower endof the table H3 may be adjusted to an extent limited by the throw of theeccentric. It will be observed that this construction makes possible theindependent adjustment of either end of the table l6, and thereby eitherend of the table may be caused to present an elevated edge over whichthe fabric is drawn under tension to straighten it. The adjustmentspermit the extent of elevation to be controlled, thereby enablingvariation thereof suitable for various conditions and vari ous fabrics,and furthermore the table may thereby be adjusted in relation to theslitting cutter wheel Hi.

In starting the operation of treating, slitting, spreading andtensioning, the end of the fabric which has been positioned on theplatform 68 of the device A, as will be later described, is drawnthrough device A and over device B, between the rollers !8 and over thetable E0, between the rollers--23, 22 and 2 and then wound about amandrel 28, on which the fabric is gathered, all this being donemanually, by an attendant. Thereafter power may be applied and theoperation becomes automatic.

It will be observed that the mandrel 26 is shown as vertically slidablein a pair of bars 35 provided with slots 3'2, the purpose of the guideslot being to permit the mandrel to adjust itself in vertical height inrelation to the power driven rollers 23, by gravity, as the diameter ofthe cloth wound on the mandrel increases. This is necessary because therollers 28 serve to rotate the mandrel through contact thereof with the1 surface of the cloth wound on the mandrel. The guide bars 35) arefurther shown as each mounted on a cross bar 3 3, slidable along theguides 36, so that the spacing of the two guide bars may be adjusted andthereby mandrels of various lengths used. The set screw is indicated at38 whereby the guide bars may be clamped in any desired position.

An important feature of the invention is constituted by the tensioningrollers iii, 22 and These are shown as elongated cylinders of relativelysmall diameter and provided with pairs of spiral vanes 22!, 23, 25 atboth ends thereof, the purpose of which is to engage the fabric withsufficient grip to pull the marginal portions thereof laterally as theroller rotates, and for this purpose the vanes of each pair areoppositely pitched. These rollers are relatively small in diameter, anactual figure being for example a diameter of of an inch as comparedwith a length of eight feet or more, and are driven at a relatively highspeed by a motor shown at 68, such speed being for example 900 R. P. M.In view of this speed of the rollers 28 it is advisable to use aseparate motor to drive the rollers 20, 22, and 2d although obviously,if desired, they may be interconnected with the rollers 28.

It will be observed that in Figure l the fabric is shown as passingunderneath the roller 20, over the roller 22 and underneath the roller24. It will be understood that the direction of rotation of the rollersmust be so designed in relation to the pitch of the spiral vanes thereofthat the action of the said vanes at all times tends to pull themarginal portions of the fabric away from the inner portions. In otherwords if the roller 26 is caused to move clockwise the spiral thereonwill cause the cloth to spread out laterally since the cloth passesunderneath the same. If now the spiral vanes on the roller 22 arepitched oppositely to those of the roller Zil, remembering the fact thatthe cloth passes above the roller 22, it will be obvious that the roller22 must be rotated counterclockwise, and similarly it will be seen thatthe roller 24 must rotate clockwise.

This effect may of course be obtained by having a gear on the end ofeach roller, and by interconnecting said gears directly.

Since the pairs of spiral vanes 12!, 23, and 25 need be active only onthe extreme marginal portions of the fabric, in order to perform theirfunction properly, their longitudinal extent should not be great. Infact their action should be restricted as far as possible only to themarginal portions. However, since usually it is desired to treat varioussizes of fabric in one machine, it is advisable to make the spiral vanesof such an extent, that their inner portions will serve to engage themarginal portions of the narrowest fabrics to be treated, while theirouter portions will be adapted to engage the marginal portions of thewidest fabrics to be treated.

For instance, if the greatest width of fabric that the machine willaccommodate is ninety-six inches, the outer ends of the vanes should bespaced that distance apart, while on the other hand, if the narrowestfabric to be treated has a width of forty-eight inches the inner ends ofthe vanes must be spaced less than this distance. In other words, eachvane must have a length of at least twenty-four inches, while the spacebetween the vanes must be less than forty-eight inches.

It is further to be observed that since the rollers l8 and 19 areintended to accommodate the fabric while it is still unslitted, andtherefore doubled-over, their length need only be onehalf that of therollers 20, 22, and MI, since these must accommodate the singlethickness fabric in spread form. That is, where the spread fabric isninety-six inches, the rollers I8 and [9 need only be, theoretically,forty-eight inches wide.

It will be obvious that the lateral tensioning effect of the system ofrollers 20, 22, and 24 will give a permanent tensioned set to thefabric, tending to stiffen it, and that this effect, which is in realitynot an actual tension will persist after the fabric is being wound onthe mandrel 26, because of the relatively close adjacency of the mandrel26 and the rollers.

It is to be observed that the rollers 28 are shown as interconnected bya belt 42, and that the right hand one of them is further driven by abelt 44 from one of the rollers l8, this belt being shown as passingover cone pulleys 43 and 45, whereby the relative speeds of rollers 28in relation to rollers l8 and I9 may be varied if desired, althoughordinarily their surface speeds will be the same, so that they cooperateto give to both ends of the fabric the same speed of travel. For certainpurposes however they may have different surface speeds. The roller i8is shown as intergeared with roller l9 and as geared to a power drivenpulley 49. A belt it is further shown as connecting the roller is with apulley 48 connected to a roller 5%, which roller is used to feed fabricinto the treating machine A, as will be further explained hereinafter.

If the tensioned cloth has been collected on a mandrel 26 it may then betaken to the cloth printing room and fed from the mandrel into theprinting machine, without any intermediate tensioning operation beingnecessary. It may also be stored for a time before printing operation,provided that the length of storage is not so great as to destroy thetensioning due to the deteriorating influences heretofore pointed out.

At A is shown the treating machines for treating tubular fabricspreparatory to passing them through the spreading and slitting device D,and

this may comprise a conduit 60 closed at the top and provided withapertures 62 adapted to discharge a treating fluid contained in theconduit. A pair of circular guide plates 64 and 65 are positioned so asto surround the conduit, and these serve at the same time to guide thefabric [6 while it is being exposed to the action of the fluid comingfrom the apertures 52, and to form in connection With said fabric aclosed chamber from which the treating fluid can only escape by passingthrough the walls of the fabric 56, and thereby effecting its treatment.As it is subjected to the action of the fluid, the fabric which isintroduced into device A in a moistened condition, is dried andstretched, and the amount of stretching may be controlled in variousways such as by using guides 64 and 66 of different diameters and byregulating the pressure of the treating fluid. In order to introduce theuntreated fabric into the device A, it is fed over the conduit 6!? andgathered on a platform 68, and this may be done by feeding thepreviously moistened fabric over the power driven roller 50, heretoforementioned, and causing it to drop over the conduit 60 and to collect onthe platform 63 from which it is pulled upward by the rollers l8 and I9and during its upward travel subjected to the fluid treatment. Beforedoing so the guide plates 64 and. 66 are removed and the device B mayalso be removed or collapsed, this being possible because of itspeculiar construction, as will be explained presently.

It has been heretofore mentioned that the tubular fabric must besuitably aligned in relation to the slitting apparatus l4, so that theslitting occurs along a line properly related to the fabric, either asto location of the seam thereof or as to the design thereof, and forthis purpose this platform 68 may be made rotatable by means of a belt16 passing around a pulley groove in the periphery thereof, and alsoover a grooved pulley [2 controlled by an attendant by means of a handwheel M. The last-mentioned elements are included in the deviceheretofore referred to generally as C.

Also mounted on the conduit is the device B, already mentionedheretofore, comprising an umbrella-like arrangement having arms 80,suiiicient in number so that when distended, as shown in Figure 1, theywill hold the fabric in distended tubular form and for this purpose sixof these ribs or arms 80 are indicated in Figure 1, and these arms areshown as pivotally mounted on a collar 82 surrounding the conduit. Asecond set of arms 84 pivotally mounted at their inner ends on a collar86, also surrounding the conduit, and pivotally connected at their freeends to the arms 8i serve to determine the position of said arms 8! Itwill be seen that by separating the collars 32 and 86 the arms may becaused to collapse against the conduit, whereas by causing said collarsto approach each other the arms 80 may be caused to expand into asubstantially radial position in relation to the conduit.

It is to be understood that suitable clamping or adjusting means areprovided on the collars whereby they may be held in any desired portion,and it will further be clear that a device constructed as just describedis suitable for a variety of widths of fabric since the spread of thearms may be adjusted within wide limits.

It will now be clear that an attendant, standing on the platform 90, andmanipulating the hand wheel l4, may so control the angular posiill tionof the platform 68 that the fabric may be caused to feed in any desiredrelation over the arms 80 which are so positioned that the attendant onplatform 90 may readily observe the feeding of the fabric thereover, andin case of an angular deviation of the fabric in relation to the saidarms 80, may promptly rotate the platform 58, so that the feed of thefabric takes place in the desired manner.

At this point it may be emphasized that the function of the spreaderrollers 20, 22, and 24 may be compared to the act of spreading thefabric as it would be done by hand so as to spread it laterally and tostraighten the marginal edges thereof, whereby it is caused to lie flat,rather than the act of tensioning the fabric in the sense that it wouldincrease its width above the normal.

In Figure la will be found an indication of a modification in structureby which the slit and spread fabric may be fed directly into a clothprinting machine, the latter being denoted by E. Spreading rollers 25',22', and 24, corresponding to rollers 29, 22, and 24 of Figure l areassociated with a spreading table Iii, and the fabric is is guided andspread by these, as is the fabric is of Figure 1. The mandrel 26 isreplaced by a roller 52 which cooperates with the power driven rollers28' to draw the fabric I 6 over the table Iii, and to guide it into theprinting machine E.

It is to be understood that the device is susceptible of manymodifications. For example, the various parts thereof may be mountedintegrally on a unitary frame, or again they may be made adjustablymovable relatively to each other. For instance, the spreading table l0need not of necessity be a single integral unit but the portion adjacentto the spreader rollers 29, 22 and 24 may be made longitudinallyadjustable in relation to the portion of the table adjacent to theslitting arrangement 82, I4 as by making the table I0 extensible.

Without going into the details of the various possible modifications itwill be obvious that many such modifications may be made, as will beobvious to those skilled in the art, and that the disclosure of theinvention herein is by way of illustration merely, subject to all mannerof variation, without departing from the spirit of the invention exceptas limited by the prior art.

Having thus described the invention and i1- lustrated its use, what isclaimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In a device for slitting a tubular fabric and then spreading it, aplatform of a width at its forward portion so that it will pass Withinthe unslitted tubular fabric and of a width at its exit por ion so thatit will accommodate the full width of the slitted fabric thereon,slitting means positioned underneath said platform adjacent the forwardsurfaces thereof for slitting said fabric While it is in tubular form,means on said exit portion for causing movement of the marginal portionsof the spread fabric laterally outward from its mid portion, and feedrollers for causing movement of said unslitted tubular fabric on saidplatform, and means for adjusting the height of said platform inrelation to said feed rollers, and said feed rollers being positioned atthe opposite ends of said platform and being interconnected by variablespeed means permitting them to have the same speed or to have relativelydifferent speeds.

2. In a spreading and tensioning device for fabrics, a guiding surfacefor guiding said fabric, means for moving said fabric over said guidingsurface, means for spreading said fabric over said guiding surfacelaterally and away from its mid portion, said means comprising a systemof three rollers of relatively small diameter, means for rotating saidrollers at a peripheral speed relatively high as compared to the speedof said fabric over said surface, and the intermediate roller of saidset being rotated in a direction opposed to said other rollers, and saidfabric being guided between said first roller and said guiding surfaceand over the outer side of the intermediate roller and between the thirdroller and the guiding surface, and each of said rollers being providedwith helical vanes at their end portions but not at their intermediateportions, said vanes being adapted to frictionally engage the fabric andto tend to advance it laterally out wardly from its mid portion.

3. In a machine for treating fabrics, a vertical conduit provided withapertures arranged for the outward discharge of fluid therefrom, aplatform rotatable in relation to said conduit adapted for gatheringthereon the untreated fabric preparatory to treatment, means for guidingsaid fabric across the discharge of treating fluid so as to treat thesame, means for receiving said treated fabric and for guiding it, saidmeans being in the form of arms projecting outwardly from the conduitand serving to engage said treated fabric at spaced points on thecircumference thereof, and thereby giving visible indication of angulardisplacements of said fabric, and manually operable means for rotatingsaid platform positioned at a point removed from the platform from Whichangular displacement of the fabric may be viewed as the fabric leavessaid guiding means, whereby an attendant observing the travel of saidfabric over said guiding means, may, by rotating said platform, correctany angular deviations of said fabric in its travel.

4. In a machine for treating fabrics, a vertical conduit provided withapertures arranged for the outward discharge of fluid therefrom, aplatform rotatable in relation to said conduit adapted for gatheringthereon the untreated fabric preparatory to treatment, means for guidingsaid fabric across the discharge of treating fluid so as to treat thesame, means for receiving said treated fabric and for guiding it, saidmeans being in the form of arms projecting outwardly from the conduitand serving to engage said treated fabric at spaced points on thecircumference thereof, and thereby giving visible indication of angulardisplacements of said fabric, and manually operable means for rotatingsaid platform positioned at a point removed from the platform from whichangular displacement of the fabric may be viewed as the fabric leavessaid guiding means, whereby an attendant observing the travel of saidfabric over said guiding means, may, by rotating said platform, correctany angular deviations of said fabric in its travel, said respectivemeans being positioned in vertical alignment.

5. For use with apparatus for slitting and spreading a tubular fabric,mechanism for circumferential adjustment of the fabric as it is beingfed into the spreading and slitting apparatus, said means comprising arotatable platform adapted to receive the gathered fabric, upright meanscentrally positioned in relation to said platform, means for distendingsaid fabric carried on said upright means, and means for guiding saidfabric against circumferential displacement carried by said uprightmeans, and means for adjusting said platform angularly in relation tosaid guiding means, said adjusting means being adapted for control by anoperator positioned so that he can view the fabric as it enters thespreading and slitting mechanism, said adjusting means comprisingmanually rotatab-le means and motion transmitting means connecting saidrotatable means with said platform.

ABRAHAM KRIEGEL, DAVID R. KASANOF, Executors of the Estate 0 Maurice M.Kasanof,

Deceased.

